DAR ES SALAAM/ZANZIBAR: Hafidh Ameir Hassan, husband of Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who died on Monday, was buried the same day in Zanzibar, officials said, in keeping with Islamic tradition that calls for burial without delay.
Ameir, 76, died at around 8 a.m. local time at Emilio Mzena Memorial Hospital in Zanzibar, where he had been undergoing treatment for a heart condition, Vice President Deogratius Ndejembi said in a statement announcing the death.
“It is with great sadness that I inform you of the death of Mr Hafidh Ameir Hassan, husband of the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan,” Ndejembi said, extending condolences to the president and her family.
Funeral prayers were led by Zanzibar’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Saleh Omar Kaabi, ahead of burial in Kizimkazi, in the South Unguja region, where the family has longstanding ties.
Ameir became Tanzania’s first-ever First Gentleman in March 2021, when Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in as the country’s first female president following the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli.
He kept a low public profile during her time in office.
Trained as an agriculturalist, Ameir studied at Uyole Agricultural College in Mbeya, specialized in coconut farming in Sri Lanka and earned a master’s degree in agricultural machinery engineering in Britain.
He spent much of his career at Zanzibar’s Ministry of Agriculture before retiring in 2005 and later taught at an agricultural college in Unguja.
He married Samia in 1978. He is survived by two widows, four children and 15 grandchildren, officials said.
Regional leaders sent condolences, including Kenyan President William Ruto, who said Samia had “lost a lifelong companion,” as well as Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi.
